Marzipankartoffeln are baby potatoes made from marzipan and are traditionally given to friends in little bags or placed on the goodie plate at Christmastime. These traditional German Christmas treats are quick and easy to make and irresistible!

Ingredients:

2 cups ground almonds
2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon rose water *
1 large egg white
fine Dutch cocoa (such as Droste Cocoa)

Preparation

1. Mix almonds, confectioners’ sugar, rose water and egg in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Wrap in a damp towel and allow to rest overnight.
2. Take marzipan and roll into small balls ( 2 cm or 3 cm in diameter). Place cocoa, about 1/2 cup, into a small bag and toss a marzipan ball into bag. Close bag and gently roll around with your hands until the ball is covered in a light dusting of cocoa. The cocoa will cause the balls to look remarkably like baby potatoes!

* Rose water is a clear liquid, distilled from fresh rose petals. To make rose water: Collect the petals from 3-4 full rose heads that have not been treated with pesticides. Place in a saucepan with 1 pint of water. Heat gently until the petals are transparent, do not boil. Cool mixture, strain, pressing liquid out of petals. Refrigerate up to one week.

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Marzipan

Pfeffernüsse are tiny spice cookies, popular as a holiday treat in Germany around Christmas. These cookies with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a hit of black pepper are ideal for the holiday season.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground is best)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons anise extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine the molasses, honey, and butter.  Place the pot over low heat, stirring often until the butter has melted, all the ingredients are completely combined, and the mixture is creamy.  Do not boil.  Remove the pot from the heat, pour the mixture into a large bowl, and set aside and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.  Stir in the beaten eggs and the anise extract.

2. While the mixture is cooling, sift together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, black pepper, and salt in a separate bowl.  With a large wooden spoon, gradually stir in the sifted dry ingredients with the molasses mixture until everything is thoroughly combined (the dough will be stiff by this point).  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.

3. After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).  Grease several baking sheets.  Roll the dough into small balls (about 1/2-inch in diameter).  Place the balls on the greased baking sheets, spacing them at least 1 inch apart, as they will spread slightly.

4. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the cookies have lost their shiny look and are slightly firm to the touch (but still soft).  The cookies may have some small cracks as well.  Using a thin spatula to remove the cookies from the baking sheet, move them to a rack to cool.  Once the cookies have cooled completely, roll each cookie in sifted confectioners’ sugar to coat thoroughly.  Store in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers at room temperature.  Allow the cookies to “age” at least 24 hours before serving (a few days to a week is even better).  If desired, roll cookies in confectioners’ sugar to coat them once more before serving.

Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/506514289326192224/

These delicate, crescent-shaped cookies flavored with vanilla and dusted with confectioner’s sugar are classic German Christmas cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter (~110 g), softened, halved or whole
1 egg yolk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup ground almonds (preferably skinless)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla powder
1 whole vanilla bean, slit and deseeded
about 1/4 cup sugar
about 1 tablespoon vanilla powder

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Mix together butter, egg yolk, powdered sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Add ground almonds, flour, salt and vanilla powder. Place dough in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to cool.
3. Roll small crescents (they extend a bit) and lightly flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden.
4. Mix sugar and vanilla powder together on a plate or bowl. Roll the warm cookies around in the vanilla sugar mixture. Store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.

Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) are maybe THE traditional German Christmas cookies. Everyone loves these little treats.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• 250 g powdered sugar
• 300 g almond flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• peel of 1/2 lemon
• rum flavor (or brown rum)
• optional: rectangle-shaped baking wafers

Preparation:

1. Beat egg white until very firm and slowly add powdered sugar, put 1/4 aside for the glaze.
2. Mix ground almond, cinnamon and lemon peel with the egg white. You should get the kind of dough that you can roll out.
3. Dust some powdered sugar on a baking board, roll the dough and cut out stars with a star cookie cutter. Optional: place the stars on a rectangle wafer and cut around the edges with a sharp knife.
4. Put the stars on a baking tray laid out with parchment paper or a buttered surface.
5. Preheat oven to 140-160 degrees C (320 F)
6. Take the remaining egg white and add some rum flavor (or if you like real brown rum) until you get a glaze which you can spread on top of the stars but not too thick, just  a thin layer.
7. Bake the stars for 30-40 minutes.

Christmas in Germany

Glühwein is enjoyed at traditional Christmas Markets and is also known as an after-ski drink. Watch it: since you drink this wine warm, the alcohol goes to your head extra quick!

Here’s How:

1. Place 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan with a piece of cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, 8 cloves, and 3/8 cup sugar.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer to a thick syrup.
3. Pour in 3 cups red wine.
4. Heat to just below the boiling point.
5. Serve hot in mugs or glasses that have been preheated in warm water (cold glasses will break.)
   

Tips:

• If you wish, add a cinnamon stick and orange slice to each glass.  
• Serve hot.
• Walk, don’t drive home.

 

Ingredients:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Dough:

3/4 cup light raisins
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 1/3 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped candied orange or lemon peel
1/2 pound (2 sticks) softened butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
8 large eggs
4 cups + 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup brandy or whiskey or orange juice

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons lemon or orange juice

Method:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a 10-inch Bundt pan and two (6″x4″) mini loaf pans (for gifting!) with cooking spray. Mix fruits and nuts and toss with 3/4 cup flour to keep ingredients from clumping together in cake batter.

2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together 4 cups flour and baking powder and slowly add to the butter-sugar-egg mixture, combining thoroughly. Add vanilla and liquor or juice, mixing well. Stir in fruit-nut mixture by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake mini loaves 25 minutes to 35 minutes or more, and Bundt pan 45 minutes to 1 hour or more, or until toothpick tests clean.

5. Let cake cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before inverting onto rack to cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients and pour over cooled cake, letting it run down the sides.

6. When cutting the cake, insert a whole unshelled almond in one slice of cake from the underside. Make a paper crown, if desired, and place it atop the cake. Let guests serve themselves. Whoever gets the almonds is king or queen for the day and wears the crown.

A Stutenkerl belongs to the Saint Nicholas tradition in the German-speaking countries. It is a pastry made of Stuten, sweet leavened dough, in the form of a man.

Ingredients:

500 g (4.5 cups) flour, additional flour
1 package of active dry yeast
50 g (1/4 cup) of sugar
pinch salt
250 ml (1 cup) warm milk
50 g (4 tbsp) of butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg
raisins
egg yolk, for brushing the fellows before they bake

Preparation:

1. Add dry ingredients (flour, yeast, sugar and salt) to a large mixing bowl and combine well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add liquids. Note: the milk and butter should be warm to activate the yeast, but not hot.

3. Mix and knead with your hands — it will be messy and sticky at first, but it will come together. If needed, you can sprinkle more flour on the dough and incorporate it as you knead. You want your dough to form a ball and be tacky like the back of a piece of tape. Leave your dough in the bowl and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let your dough rise for 30 minutes. To ensure a good rise, set the covered bowl in a warm place.

4. When the dough has risen for 30 minutes it will be slightly puffed. Cut the dough in half and then in half again so that you can make 4 fellows or whatever shape you like (you can even use smaller portions to bake mini stutenkerl). Before shaping the dough, knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface. Shaping the figures right on the parchment-covered baking sheets that you will be baking them on is best so that you don’t have to worry about transferring them. Let the little fellows rise, uncovered on baking sheets for 20 minutes in a 175 degree F oven.

5. After the second rise (they will be quite puffy), decorate your stutenkerl with raisins, them brush the tops with beaten egg yolk. Bake at 380 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until they are shiny and golden on top and a skewer poked into the bread comes out clean.